Broncos crowds in a city of 2.3m should be drawing at least 40k fortnightly ,in league heartland.They don't.
Whilst ever we have Tv against the gate, it ain't going to happen.Fumbleball is a different proposition, because it doesn't translate easily to TV and in AFL heartlands it's in bred from the moment they are dropped on their noggin at birth.They know no other sport, because everyone from the media to the police treat them with kid gloves.
Brilliant.
And, that's exactly how it is.
Yes, sure, we could do better to increase crowds in Sydney and in general for the NRL, but the AFL obsession is a particularly weird phenomenon in a few small states in a small country, and for a sport that no one else in the world gives a f**k about.
Or the NRL is the worst in promotion and marketing. It hasn't stopped the infighting, jealously and self interest within the game to allow for a clear and direct strategy in any of the key areas that we need to get right to grow the game in, including crowds.
Individual clubs have tried here and there, but now since the guaranteed $13m+ grant to each club, they have basically given up and just give lip service. A perfect example of the lip service within the game is the collective bargaining agreement, where the players all promised to take a hands on approach to promoting the game if they got what they wanted because they considered themselves to be partners not just employees.
Well as always armature hour prevailed and the powers that be never got anything in writing, so a promise is as good as a lie. The players got the loot and the game got fooled again.
The NRL needs to get every stake holder together and demand that they all pitch in and promote each game like its a final. Oh wait, we don't do that well either. So maybe the edict should be promote each game like it is a AFL game. For mine the budget for grass roots development and marketing/promotion of the game are paramount. Each club should be made to spend a large chunk of their non salary cap expenditure on these two areas.
What this figure is I don't know, but a good place to start for the marketing side of things would be whatever the current highest spending club figure is, they should double and then triple it. And whatever the highest spend for grass roots development is, all clubs should be made to spend the same amount. All clubs should be able to show exactly where and what they have spent the money on and over time what progress has been made. You know KPI's.
If a club has not spent the agreed upon money on these two areas, then the ARLC can withhold the unspent amount from the salary cap grant and must spend it for them in the same areas and as a penalty the club loses that amount off of their spend for the following season. That would ensure that each club would make sure that they do the right thing.
Now the most important part of this would be the policing and follow up penalties if they are needed. Without the ARLC's hardline approach to this, nothing would change. They need to make sure that for example that each and every club employ a minimum amount of development officers. Clubs fund X amount of junior clubs. What type of promotions are they financing each game week? Are they allowing their players to speak their minds and rattle the cages of their upcoming opponents? Are they combining promos with other clubs for better bang for their buck type of stuff? etc.
What are the results week to week, month to month, season to season? Where were the best results seen and can they be repeated for every club? Within a season or three they will have a predictive database that will only get better and better and stronger. Over time it will be embedded in all clubs how growing the game is essential and vital to their very existence other then what is currently mostly lip service and a good idea that they sort of do.
Each club needs to be accountable, but also helped where needed. No club can just flog it off and plead that they have no juniors or whatever other lame excuse that they may argue. As an example the Roosters must be made to spend the same amount in developing catchment areas of their choice at the same monetary level as the other development clubs. I am not talking about putting the money into a few elite players. I am referring to funding and developing junior and country clubs as a whole. If they don't then the amount is withheld by the ARLC and spent by them on grass roots development in their catchment area.
If we were to ever get this right, I believe over the medium term we would see significant growth in all areas of the game. But like I said, it is all about the policing and follow through. Don't just let the clubs do their own thing or police themselves. We need strong leadership and real consequences. I really hope that besides, the rule changes, expansion club/s and new stadiums V'Landys see this area as being vital to the games future fortunes too. He is the only man to ever run the game besides Ken Arthurson and John Quayle that has the vision, strength and enough nous to take on such an undertaking.
But it won't be easy, the clubs are entrenched in their own arsehole, white ant behaviour that he will need to somehow overcome though hardnosed pragmatic single mindedness. It will need to be a carrot or the stick approach and he will need to wag his golden tongue a hell of a lot, like never before. Lets hope he sees the need to take them on to finally get the good ship NRL off the rocks and into open sea. If he were to ever achieve this he will be his finest and greatest achievement no matter what else he ever goes onto do. There is not tougher assignment in the Australian sporting landscape. The United Nations have it easier.
Oh as for the game being a TV product, yeah sure is, but to blame the crowds on that is folly. I'm old enough to remember when we only televised 1 or 2 live games a week and the crowds were even smaller. Does live TV have a bearing on the crowds? Sure it probably does, but not enough if we got our act together in all the other areas. The AFL had dismal crowds too in the 70's/80's, then they got their sh*t together and look at them now. We need to get this right or nothing significant will ever change other then a slight bump due to better stadiums.
No more excuses.
